The present invention relates to an apparatus for starting spring-driven toy cars with a housing, having a fitted base plate being the width of the car and vertical side walls, in which at least one of the side walls is pivotable partially inward.
Wheels in spring-driven toy cars must be blocked before starting by a wound-up spring motor. This can be accomplished in the usual way either by a mechanical braking means arranged on the car or by hand, in that the wheels are held fast. Starting the car by releasing a mechanical braking means arranged on the car is expedient, because in general the car would have to be held in place to do that and would not permit an accurate start of the car, as is important in racing, for example. Blocking the wheels by hand allows for an accurate start, but the car must be held constantly up until the starting, so that the car cannot be left in a waiting position, besides which starting the car in tracks is difficult.
An apparatus for toy cars with a housing is known from the prior art, where there is employed a base plate the width of the car and side walls vertical to it. This housing is a portion of a track for these toy cars. One of the side walls of the housing is pivotable inwardly into the track, in order to brake the car driving in the track.
This well-known apparatus is not suitable, however, for starting spring-driven cars. The pivotable part of the side wall is, hinged on one end and tilts at an acute angle into the track. A car would be held at its front end by this pivotable side wall. The wheels would not be blocked and can turn freely on a car that is held fast, whereby the drive-spring releases itself.
A further braking apparatus for toy cars driven on tracks known from the prior art, in which a movable flap is arranged above the track, and is pivotable downwardly to brake the cars and lies close to the cars driving through. This apparatus is not suitable for starting the spring-driven toy cars, as the cars cannot easily fit in between the track and the flap arranged above.